BALLARI: Jindal South West (JSW) Steel Plant Limited in Toranagallu, Ballari district, has turned into a Covid cluster in the span of one week, keeping the district administration on its toes. So far, 86 employees and their family members have been infected with the coronavirus, and an alert has been sounded in the factory, which has close to 30,000 employees.
Ballari had reported 60 cases till last week, before cases were traced to JSW. The first patient (P-4350) from JSW had a travel history to Tamil Nadu. This is similar to the outbreak at Jubilant Generics Limited, a pharma company in Nanjangud taluk of Mysuru district. Ballari Deputy Commissioner S S Nakul said that 46 new cases with links to JSW, were reported on Thursday. So far, 140 employees are in quarantine and more tests are expected to be conducted in the coming days.
JSW officials said that before the employees tested positive, all preventive measures had been put in place by the factory management. Employees from the affected section were quarantined soon after the first case was reported. A JSW employee said that after cases started multiplying, the factory stopped buses coming from Hospet and Ballari, and safety measures had been reinforced. Ballari district now has 147 Covid-19 cases, of which 86 are related to JSW. While 49 were discharged, the district has reported one death.
Maharashtra spread continues
Yadgir was the worst-hit district on Thursday, reporting 66 patients, all of whom were Maharashtra returnees. The Maharashtra factor contributed to 20 of 22 cases in Udupi, 16 cases in Kalaburagi, five in Raichur, 14 in Bidar and eight cases in Shivamogga. Bengaluru Urban saw six ILI cases out of its total of 17, and the remaining included four whose contacts are still being traced, one primary contact, two Tamil Nadu returnees, three Maharashtra returnees and one SARI case. The cases included a 23-yearold pregnant woman from Banashankari 2nd Stage, a 22-year-old prisoner from Jayanagar and a 25-year-old woman who delivered a baby on June 9 from Padarayanapura.
Death toll mounts to 72
Karnataka added 204 cases to its tally of 6,245, with 51.16 per cent (3,195) being active cases. The death toll mounted to 72, with three patients — two from Bengaluru and one from Raichur — dying on Thursday. In Bengaluru, a 35-yearold man from Bengaluru with Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and chronic liver disease was admitted on June 7 and died on June 10. A 60-year-old man with ILI, diabetes and Ischemic heart disease was admitted on June 9 and passed away two days later. The third case was a 28-year-old woman from Raichur, with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) and travel history to Bidar, who was admitted on May 30 and passed away on June 8. The total number of discharged patients stands at 2,976, which is 47.65% of the total corona cases.